Gyan sad over Nigeria’s World Cup miss

Ghanaian football icon Asamoah Gyan has expressed sympathy for Nigeria after the Super Eagles failed to secure qualification for the 2026 World Cup.

With an expanded Fifa World Cup format featuring 48 teams, including ten slots allocated to African nations, many fans and pundits had widely tipped the Super Eagles to secure qualification for the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Despite taking an early lead through Frank Onyeka, the Super Eagles were denied a place at the World Cup after a dramatic 4-3 penalty shootout defeat to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the African playoff final last November.

Former Black Stars captain Gyan described the situation as unfortunate as he reflected on the sporting rivalry between the two West African giants.

Speaking on SuperSport’s Soccer Africa, monitored by allnigeriasoccer.com, Gyan stated: “When you talk about the two countries, Ivory Coast is very close to Ghana as well, but the difference is the language barrier. It is true Ghana and Nigeria have no border. Ivory Coast and Nigeria are our brothers, but when it comes to competitiveness, we are more like a rival with Nigeria. It is a healthy rivalry.”

Gyan, Africa’s top scorer in World Cup history with six goals, was then asked how it felt for Ghana to be heading to the 2026 World Cup, while Nigeria would be absent from the tournament.

Responding with empathy, Gyan said: “It’s rather unfortunate. Nigeria have got a good team. The healthy rivalry between the two countries is amazing”.

Nigeria have now missed back-to-back World Cups for the first time since making their tournament debut in 1994.